Richards Romps To Vitis Victory

England's top seed Tom Richards beat seventh-seeded Mexican Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira in the final of the inaugural Seegarten Vitis Open to win the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash title at Vitis Sports Center in Schlieren, near Zurich, in Switzerland.

The 11-4, 11-1, 12-10 victory gives Richards, the 22-year-old world No34 from Surrey, his second PSA Tour title of year - and the third of his career.

"Tom won convincingly as Ferreira seemed to feel the effects of his semi-final marathon from the day before," reported tournament organiser John Williams.  "Ferreira had a brief reprise in the third game as he led most of the way, but it was Richards who was able to re-assert his authority around the middle of the court, playing the 'end game' to perfection to capture the Seegarten title."

Baltazar Ferreira Battles To Marathon Swiss Success

Mexico's seventh seed Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira was taken the full distance by unseeded Nicolas Mueller in the Seegarten Vitis Open before defeating the home hero to reach the final of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at Vitis Sports Center in Schlieren, near Zurich, in Switzerland.

"The home crowd favourite was once again spurred on by a parochial Swiss crowd but was edged out 17-15 in the fifth game," reported tournament organiser John Williams.  "Both players displayed tremendous skills and mental endeavour from start to finish, but it was to be the Mexican who prevailed in a high quality affair considering their current rankings."

The 12-10, 4-11, 14-12, 3-11, 17-15 victory takes Baltazar Ferreira into the 12th PSA Tour final of his career - but the first this year.

The 26-year-old from Mexico City will face favourite Tom Richards after the Englishman prevailed against injured Hungarian Mark Krajcsak, the fourth seed.

"At one-game all, the match was well poised - but Krajcsak was clearly affected from the beginning of the third game by his injury," explained Williams after the second semi-final which finished with a 4-11, 11-4, 6-1 (ret.) scoreline.

Richards, the 22-year-old world No34 from Surrey, is celebrating his fifth Tour final appearance - and looking for his second PSA win this year.

Mueller Marches On In Schlieren

Home hero Nicolas Mueller delighted the crowds at the Seegarten Vitis Open when he upset third seed Chris Ryder to win an unexpected place in the semi-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at Vitis Sports Center in Schlieren, near Zurich, in Switzerland.

And the unseeded Swiss teenager did it the hard way - fighting back from two games and match-ball down in the third to beat experienced Englishman Ryder 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-3, 11-6.

"Nicolas rode the wave of support that surged from the local crowd during these games," said tournament organiser John Williams.  "The win from the Swiss star has also brought a positive response from the National Television Channel 'SF', who are very likely to come to VITIS SportsCenter to film footage of tomorrow's semi-finals, which will be replayed on Monday or Tuesday in the coming week.

"This is naturally a bonus for Squash in Switzerland and in general on World Squash Day," added Williams.

Mueller, the world No71 from near Zurich, will now meet Mexico's Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira, the seventh seed ranked 18 places higher who defeated unseeded Australian Bradley Hindle 13-11, 11-6, 11-7.

The other semi-final will feature England's top seed Tom Richards and fourth-seeded Hungarian Mark Krajcsak who had straightforward straight games wins over Dutch qualifier Piedro Schweertman and Czech number one Jan Koukal, respectively.

Qualifier Schweertman Leads Upsets In Schlieren

Dutch qualifier Piedro Schweertman led a series of upsets on the opening day of action in the Seegarten Vitis Open when he beat fifth seed Julien Balbo to reach the quarter-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at Vitis Sports Center in Schlieren, near Zurich, in Switzerland.

The 25-year-old from The Hague was two games up against Balbo when the Frenchman, clearly suffering with a back injury, conceded the match.

Unseeded Bradley Hindle also scored an upset win over Eric Galvez, the No2 seed from Mexico, with an impressive performance which showed further improvement could be in store from this Australian.  The 28-year-old Queenslander's 8-11, 11-0, 16-14, 14-12 win takes him into a quarter-final clash with another Mexican, No7 seed Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira.

Swiss hopes stay alive as Nicolas Mueller scored a resounding 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 win over seasoned PSA campaigner Ritwik Bhattacharya of India, the eighth seed.  The Zurich teenager will now meet No3 seed Chris Ryder, the world No39 from England who recovered from two games down to beat the recently improved Welshman Rob Sutherland.

"Match of the day was between No1 seed Tom Richards and Kuwaiti qualifier Abdullah Almezayen," said tournament organiser John Williams.  "Almezayen displayed his talented array of deft touches and explosive retrieving, delighting the crowd - but it was the steadiness of the more experienced Richards which got him over the line at the end of the fifth."